Pelosi on point about war funding

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is at her best in the clip above. Point-by-point, she takes Bush to task on vetoing the supplemental funding bill, and how this war cannot and should not be an open-ended commitment.

I blogged about this a few days ago - a blind person can see why this administration doesn't put the entire cost of the war in the general budget - there would be an open revolt by many Americans at this war's cost, and it would give voters a true snapshot of the ballooning deficit, which is spiraling out of control. Instead, the Bush administration just asks for money several times during the year. That ploy may have worked with the rubber-stamp GOP Congress, but it won't now.

As for time tables about when we should leave, even Bush's own secretary of defense is leaning in favor of them, but that doesn't stop chicken hawks Cheney and Bush from insisting on having things their way, which is to say, "We'll leave Iraq when we want to leave Iraq, and not before."

Pelosi continues: "The president wants a blank check, we will not give it to him."

I can't say it enough - right on, Madame Speaker. More importantly, I strongly urge all of you to write your Senators and House Representative and tell them not to cave to the president on the supplemental war funding bill. I haven't had the time to write impassioned letters to my legislators, but this weekend I'm going to be writing many letters, and of course I will share them with you. It's the end of the semester, and I just haven't had the time to write letters AND keep up with the blog.

One more quick thought on the video above...

Pelosi continues, "Next the president said that Congress is substituting our judgment for the judgments of commanders six-thousand-miles-away.

"Wrong again, Mr. President. We're substituting our judgment for your judgment 16 blocks down Pennsylvania Avenue."

This is one of the best speeches I've heard her give as speaker.

I just hope she can hold the Democratic caucus together and keep it from caving to Bush on funding this war.